Job 39
1 Have you knowledge of the rock-goats? or do you see the roes giving birth to their young?
Knowest thou the time when the chamois of the rock bring forth? or markest thou when the hinds do calve?
2 Is the number of their months fixed by you? or is the time when they give birth ordered by you?
Numberest thou the months of gestation which they complete and knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
3 They are bent down, they give birth to their young, they let loose the fruit of their body.
They bend themselves: they drop their young ones; throw off their pains.
4 Their young ones are strong, living in the open country; they go out and do not come back again.
Their little ones become strong; they grow up in the open field; they go forth, and return not unto them.
5 Who has let the ass of the fields go free? or made loose the bands of the loud-voiced beast?
Who sent out the wild ass free? or who loosened the bonds of the forest-ass?
6 To whom I have given the waste land for a heritage, and the salt land as a living-place.
To whom I assigned the wilderness as his house, and the salty land as his dwellings.
7 He makes sport of the noise of the town; the voice of the driver does not come to his ears;
He laugheth at the noise of a town, and the shoutings of the driver he heareth not.
8 He goes looking for his grass-lands in the mountains, searching out every green thing.
What he espieth on the mountains is his pasture, and after every green thing doth he search.
9 Will the ox of the mountains be your servant? or is his night's resting-place by your food-store?
Will the forest-ox be willing to serve thee, or will he stay over night at thy crib?
10 Will he be pulling your plough with cords, turning up the valleys after you?
Canst thou bind the forest-ox with a rope [to labor] in the furrow? or will he harrow valleys, following after thee?
11 Will you put your faith in him, because his strength is great? will you give the fruit of your work into his care?
Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? and wilt thou leave to him thy labor?
12 Will you be looking for him to come back, and get in your seed to the crushing-floor?
Wilt thou confide in him, that he should bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy threshing-floor?—
13 Is the wing of the ostrich feeble, or is it because she has no feathers,
The wing of the ostrich moveth joyfully: hath she the pinions and plumage of the careful stork?
14 That she puts her eggs on the earth, warming them in the dust,
[No, ] for she intrusteth her eggs to the earth, and letteth them be hatched out on the dust:
15 Without a thought that they may be crushed by the foot, and broken by the beasts of the field?
And she forgetteth that a foot may crush them, or that the beast of the field may stamp them down.
16 She is cruel to her young ones, as if they were not hers; her work is to no purpose; she has no fear.
He hath made her callous against her young, as though they were not hers: her labor is in vain, [but she feeleth] no dread;
17 For God has taken wisdom from her mind, and given her no measure of knowledge.
Because God hath denied her wisdom, and he hath not imparted to her understanding.
18 When she is shaking her wings on high, she makes sport of the horse and of him who is seated on him.
At the time she raiseth herself up on high, she laugheth at the horse and his rider.
19 Do you give strength to the horse? is it by your hand that his neck is clothed with power?
Dost thou give the horse strength? dost thou clothe his neck with the rolling mane?
20 Is it through you that he is shaking like a locust, in the pride of his loud-sounding breath?
Canst thou make him jump like a locust? his majestic snort is terrible.
21 He is stamping with joy in the valley; he makes sport of fear.
Men spy about in the valley, and he rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth forth to meet the armed array.
22 In his strength he goes out against the arms of war, turning not away from the sword.
He laugheth at fear, and is not dismayed; and turneth not back from before the sword.
23 The bow is sounding against him; he sees the shining point of spear and arrow.
Over him rattle the quiver, the glittering spear and the lance.
24 Shaking with passion, he is biting the earth; he is not able to keep quiet at the sound of the horn;
With impatient noise and rage he holloweth [with his hoof] the ground, and keepeth not quiet when the cornet's voice [is heard].
25 When it comes to his ears he says, Aha! He is smelling the fight from far off, and hearing the thunder of the captains, and the war-cries.
Midst the sound of the cornet he uttereth his joyful neigh; and from afar he perceiveth the battle, the loud call of the captains, and the battle-cry.—
26 Is it through your knowledge that the hawk takes his flight, stretching out his wings to the south?
Is it through thy understanding that the hawk flieth along, and spreadeth out his wings toward the south?
27 Or is it by your orders that the eagle goes up, and makes his resting-place on high?
Or is it by your order that the eagle doth mount upward, and buildeth high up his nest?
28 On the rock is his house, and on the mountain-top his strong place.
On a rock he dwelleth, and spendeth his nights, on a rocky crag and mountain fastness.
29 From there he is watching for food; his eye sees it far off.
From there he espieth his food, from afar can his eyes behold.
30 His young have blood for their drink, and where the dead bodies are, there is he to be seen.
His young ones, also, sip up blood: and where the slain be, there is he.
